The present disclosure relates to a recording medium feeding device and an image forming apparatus provided with the same, and in particular, relates to a recording medium feeding device including a pickup roller that feeds a recording medium from a recording medium stacking portion, and an image forming apparatus provided therewith.
There have conventionally been known image forming apparatuses provided with a pickup roller that feeds a sheet from a sheet feeding cassette (a recording medium stacking portion) in which the sheet (a recording medium) is stored. The pickup roller feeds the sheet by rotating while being pressed against a topmost surface of sheet stacked in the sheet feeding cassette.
Typically, image forming apparatuses are required to have a sheet feeding device (a recording medium feeding device) capable of handling various types of sheets from a thin sheet having a basis weight of about 50 g/m2 to a thick sheet having a basis weight of about 300 g/m2. A higher conveyance force is necessary to convey thick sheets than to convey thin sheets. Thus, for conveyance of thick sheets, a pressing force of the pickup roller against the sheets is set high.
On the other hand, there has been proposed a sheet feeding device provided with a pressing force changing mechanism configured to change the pressing force of the pickup roller against sheets. The pressing force changing mechanism is constituted by a solenoid, an actuator, or the like, and a dedicated drive source (such as a drive motor) for driving it. With such a sheet feeding device, it is possible to appropriately set the pressing force of the pickup roller against sheets by means of the pressing force changing mechanism, and thus it is possible to feed various types of sheets from thin sheets to thick sheets.